, 1887-02-10
A SUMMER JAUNT.
An. Interesting Description of
Lake Chelan.
A Country that will soon be
Brought Prominently Before
the Public,


Society, Friday evening, February
4, 1887, by s. l.. Alexunder.)
The United States contains many
attractions for the tourist and pleas
ure-seeker, and especially is this the
case with the Pacific coast; and for
varied beauty and grandeur Of seem
cry Washington territory vies with
the coast and the northwest, many
features being Incompatible. Vol
umes have been written upon this
subject, until it would seem that 1t
has been exhausted; hut there arc To-
calities within short distance of
Spokane Falls, abounding in the
freaks and beauties of nature, that
have as yet been scarcely touched
upon by the descriptive pen. Last
summer had the pleasure Of visit
ing just such a country, and as there
has never, to my knowledge, been
anything, except very meagre re-
ports, Published descriptive of 1t, l
hope that this rambling article may
contain much that is new and of ill.,
terest to the college literary society.
One hundred and twenty miles
west and dozen miles north
from Spokane Falls is the lower end
of Lake Chelan, body of pure, pei
lucia water. The lake extends
noithwesterly sixty-five miles, and
has width of from one and one
half to five miles. 1t Is environed
by rugged mountains and fed by
numberless small streams, the largest
being the Ste-he-kin river, which
flows in at the extreme upper end.
On the Goth day Of July, 1886, Il
pleasure party of seven-lhreel ladies
and four gentlemen-outfitted ut
Badger mountain, In Douglas county,
for trip to and cruise on Lake
Cheian. We will call their names
tourist from California;, Levi, Helen,
Mary and Grandma,-ull full of the
vivacity of youth, not excepting
grandma, who, although in her Goth
year, was apparently in the vigor of
youth. In my narrative l shall pass
rapidly over the twenty mile ride on
horseback to the Columbia river, and
thence across the swiftly flowing
stream in an unseaworthy boat pro-
PEELED by Cinnamon. Arriving safe
ly on the western shore, a cayuse
was procured of an Indian maiden of
50 short summers, and our luggage
was transported up the steep hill
about 300 feet high, the party walk
ing, and witnessing with no great
pleasure the cayuSe buck the load
from its back. Gushing out from the
foot of the hill are several large per-
rennial springs, and the few acres of
land thus refreshed and beautified
are claimed as home by Cultus Jim
IA worthless Indian, as his name
indicates-and a few of his tillicums.
This little patch Of ground could be
transformed with little labor into a
garden of Eden. The falls of Chelan
river are nearly II mile down the
river from this garden spot. Com
pared with our own falls of the SpO-
kane, they suipass the latter in some
respects, the vOlSlme of water being
perhaps greater in midsummer and
of more equable flow the year
round. But brief description will
suffice, and you may make your own
comparisons. The clear blue water
energies from narrow canyon and
with intense fury, us II enraged at
having been confined within walls of
rock and narrow valley for over
two miles, dashes against and over
huge granite blocks and boulders,
foaming like seething cauldron
and tossing spray AS high as the tall
est trees. The descent here, at its
greatest fall, is about 60 feet in dis
tance of one hundred feet. Below
hi "a xx,I,t tnh
adise for trout. The total fall of the
river is about $50 feet in two and
one-haIf miles. The massive granite
blocks at the falls are thrown togeth-
er in all sorts Of shapes, forming ir-
regular rooms or caVerns, where the
tourist may find cool retreat in the
hottest day, and the sparkling waters
around remind one of being in an
enchanted fairy grottO. But, 10! in
an unexpected moment, an unseen
power forces through crevice be-
tween the rocks stream large
enough to dOuse the imaginative oc-
cupant, and scatter his visionary
ideas, and he crawls out of his re-
treat looking more like half-drown
ed rat than human being.
Our party continue walking two
miles farther to the foot of Lake
Chelan, and camp on the sight of
the government post, where the
skeleton Of Il large saw-mill Is a re-
minder of the year 1880, when Camp
Chelan was established here, on u
beautiful bunch-grass covered plat
eau on the north bank, stretching
back about a mile to the rocky and
timbered hills. The government
also placed small steamer on the
lake which, proved to be navigable
to its head. Shortly after the estab-
lishment of this camp, it was aband-
Oned on account Of the great difficult
ty experienced In getting there, and
the present site Of Camp Spokane
was ael9Ct9d.